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PA - Military vehicle registration....

frigar78

New member
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Location
Derry, pa
hello out there,
Im new to this site as of a couple days ago. and im buying my first M35 this weekend. I live near Pittsburgh pa. and im trying to find info about registering one of these trucks. How do you guys out there do it. I was looking on the dmv site and the conclusion that i "cant" put antique/ vintage/ or classic plates on it because i couldn't haul anything and or drive at night time... is there any stickys on here for these questions. I didn't see anything in my brief glance. If anyone has any info or links to what im looking for that would be greatly appreciated. thank you , gus
 

shenkmen

Active member
1,107
12
38
Location
Lancaster, PA
Re: pa Military vehicle registration....

Antique plates for two years in Lancaster county on my M35a2. I occasionally haul personal items and yard waste but nothing commercial. I use it most for camping with my son and friends. Occasional offroading and I also drive at night.

The rule of thumb for antique or classic plates in PA is to not be a jerk and nobody will be jerk to you. Getting to know your local LEO's and waving when you pass them will help too.

I've never had a problem. A few cops have stopped by or waited for me to chat about it.
 

gunboy1656

Active member
3,587
22
38
Location
Beaver Falls, PA
Welcome, been out to Derry a few times.

I have antique plate on mine, and hauled stuff in mine when I moved. And I drive mine at night.

I talked with a PA state trooper who told me as long as you not going to haul anything commercial (or look like your hauling commercial) he would not stop me. I got into the discussion with him as I had to go out to Ohio to pick up 2 trailers. Hauled one towed the other. Passed all sorts of cops and all they did was wave.
YMMV.
 

Tlauden

Member
840
3
18
Location
Halifax Pennsylvania
pa Military vehicle registration....

I have normal plates on mine, I have it registered as a class 5 (11,001-14,000LBS). $243.00 annually for the registration. I found it was the easiest way to go. I can still haul stuff, although not much since the total vehicle weight can't go over 7 tons. Plus I can drive all I want at night without worries. It's insured as a commercial vehicle for non-commercial use thru State Farm, $240 a year for insurance (about $20 a month). My inspection garage only charges $25 for inspection. So all in all my deuce in pa is legal for right about $500 per year. Not bad at all when compared to other vehicles of this size.

In the end I wouldn't even consider the "special" plates, seems like too much of a headache.


Hope this helps ya!!!!!
 

shenkmen

Active member
1,107
12
38
Location
Lancaster, PA
Re: pa Military vehicle registration....

I forgot to mention - Antique plates in PA do not require annual registration or inspection.
 

BigWill1985

New member
71
0
0
Location
Norfolk, VA
If you have any issues titling your truck, let me know. I purchased a truck that originated from a common seller up in Maryland. He works with another company in Pennsylvania and is able to get legal, clear titles for these trucks. He originally sold my truck to the guy in NC, and that guy messed up the title work. I already had the truck in my possession, and he went through the guy in Maryland who had another title generated (with updated mileage information), and signed it over directly to me. I took it to the DMV and everything went fine.

I will be honest with you, it seemed sort of shady receiving the title in the mail signed over to me from a company and person that I had never even heard of. He also had the GVWR incorrectly stated on the title. I just had to sign as the buyer (for a price which he listed as $1,000) and sign on a few dotted lines on the bill of sale. Took it all to the DMV, and walked out with title and registration which was completely legit 15 minutes later. I'm not sure exactly what the service cost, but it might help you if you run into problems. Just PM me if you want the contact info.

~Will Courtier~
 

215Dave

Member
288
0
16
Location
Northeast Phila, PA
Hi everyone. Not trying to jack your thread, but since all but one of the responses have been from fellow PA residents, I'm gonna ask anyway. I need insurance, like yesterday! I've tried and tried. Called, emailed, read threads on here. You name it. I really want to avoid restrictions. I hate headaches and such. I just want fire up and go. Day or night, loaded up or empty bed. Would you lend a hand a refer me to your insurance agents. Id love to get PM's with actual agent names phone numbers w/ extensions if necessary. I read the threads that have the insurance company with claims of $200 a yr no restrictions; but called and got different stories than what SS members have posted. Any info/ help would help tremendously. Thanks in advance, Dave
 

datadawg

New member
253
4
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Location
Bucks County, PA
Everyone is focusing their comments on cost of plates/insurance and need to inspect when discussing antique/classic plates vs. regular plates. What about CDL?? I heard, but not certain, that if you have MV w/classic plate or antique plate you do not need a CDL. Is that true?
I'm keen to find out, b/c I am getting a 923A2 and don't have a CDL. I plan to use it as a toy occasionally, but definitely don't want hassles w/LEO. I'm in Bucks County PA, which is northeast of Philly.
 

EGW

New member
2
0
0
Location
Quakertown Pa
Everyone is focusing their comments on cost of plates/insurance and need to inspect when discussing antique/classic plates vs. regular plates. What about CDL?? I heard, but not certain, that if you have MV w/classic plate or antique plate you do not need a CDL. Is that true?
I'm keen to find out, b/c I am getting a 923A2 and don't have a CDL. I plan to use it as a toy occasionally, but definitely don't want hassles w/LEO. I'm in Bucks County PA, which is northeast of Philly.
Have a M925 in Pa. first one the title was already a Pa title. bought it and registered as Antique.
drive 1 day per week and no hauling. provided the lighting is current and not Oil lamps or lights that are not visable / before xx date you can drive at night.
Owners card states Weight at 22,500 lbs.

Second M925 from GL. 1989 sent off the Az. title to get it put in my name and antique title / tags.
title came back A. Perfect. tag came back with 32,500. sent it back hoping a typo? will see. As stated you can not "haul"
with a Antique title so should be 22,500 / empty weight.

26,001 for CDL.
We do work for local LE so that is covered.

geo
 

Lonnie

Member
201
20
18
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Typically the night time restriction is not enforced unless you have a car with poor lighting.
I have been driving home from car shows about a hundred times at night & never got hassled.

As for the antique plates, for an $85 1 time fee, it beats getting inspections twice a year & paying big $$ for a plate.
I did not buy mine to work it so it was an easy choice.

I was surprised that I got a weight class sticker with my antique plate...
Didn't put it on yet, but I figure the class 8 sticker for 26K or less would at least prevent anyone from expecting it to be a CDL vehicle.

Plus, I got antique insurance cheap. Hopefully I can put all the money I saved on registration & insurance into the fuel tank.

After all my research, I realized very few police officers actually know the details about registering these vehicles.
I called many police departments & got transferred many times.

When I called the PA Dept. of Transportation, I could tell he was reading the answers off the same document I found on the internet.

My best help was a DOT enforcement officer at one of the local state police barracks.
He basically said they typically ignore antiques & would not likely get stopped or checked unless hauling or it looked in unsafe condition.
 
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datadawg

New member
253
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0
Location
Bucks County, PA
I have now spent countless hours chasing this down, including going to PennDOT license center in Bensalem and talking to pretty much everyone there. Per Joe at Bensalem PennDOT -- one of the guys that conducts CDL tests, I had to get a CDL b/c the 5 ton has airbrakes. His colleague, Tom, bought into my story line, which is 5 ton is exempt b/c it's antique and does not qualify as commercial vehicle. They went to supervisor, who professed ignorance. One of these guys had son in military, so they took some pity on me and my desperate quest to really make sure I'm legal. Joe called me a few days later (unheard of service for PennDOT, huh!) and said he called Harrisburg and this is the DEFINITIVE ANSWER:

1) You do NOT need CDL
2) You DO need to change the regular PA Class C license to a CLASS B (NON CDL) license - b/c the 5 ton DOES exceed 26K GVWR. Class B NON CDL lets you drive a NON commercial vehicle (e.g. antique 5 ton or large motor home) weighing above 26K CDL.
3) You do NOT need a "knowledge test" (where you take a test and answer questions) to get the Class B, but do need a driving test with your vehicle.
4) You DO need separate air brake test/endorsement on license, again b/c 5 ton has AIR BRAKES.

Joe issued me a learners permit for a Class B for $5. He told me to come back to take a driving test for the airbrake endorsement, "when you are ready" -- but within a year of getting the learner's permit. At the driving test, he said he'll want to make sure I know basics for airbrakes, like "what happens when you run out of air." He suggested I read up on the air brakes part in CDL book -- let's face it guys, if you got through 8th grade, you can pass the test on air brakes!

I will wind up getting the Class B, for two simple reasons. First, even though most local cops won't bother you at all, there is a chance you might get pulled over elsewhere (post 9-11 they all fear some Rambo Jihadi and they might pull you over just for that). So I want to be able to show the cop my class B that says I'm legal to drive > 26K GVWR and not have any issues. Worse, many enforcement officers assume (as did Joe initially) that airbrakes automatically invokes CDL, so having a Class B NON CDL license with airbrake endorsement, is 100% defense against this argument. Otherwise, you are left there trying to convince the officer that an antique offers you exemption against BOTH GVWR and airbrakes... do you really want an interpretational debate on the side of the road -- remember most these guys aren't used to and very much resent being told they are wrong -- and the downside is they simply tow your truck ($$$) and maybe give a few tickets to boot.

The second reason I am going to get Class B NON CDL w/airbrake endorsement is god forbid I hit someone in this monster, imagine the field day their lawyer will have suing me... so you drove a truck exceeding your rated license and you lacked the proper certification for stopping it!!! And now my client's neck hurts!!! I rather be absolutely 100% legal!

As far as LEO ignoring antiques, I don't know what kind of courtesy they show, but they typically won't know it's antique until after they pull you over. And they are so hungry for revenue, unless you are dealing w/someone who is former military, they might just throw you in their meat grinder. I've gotten 3 tickets once while driving a brand new pick up truck w/my kids coming back from Home Depot!! They made me go to some inspection station and said I had too much weight on my rear axle, the straps I was using to tie my purchases weren't DOT approved and some other crap. When I told the guy I was a homeowner and had no clue about this, he said "that's what all you contractors say." Only when I went to Court and showed up in my suit from day job, he said he remembered me and agreed to drop the tix w/o my even going in front of a judge. As I said, it's a revenue thing and who needs to risk huge tow bill and tickets when for a bit of hassle and $5 or so in license fee, you can avoid even the most fiendish enforcement vampires.

FWIW, I registered my truck as antique b/c of the savings. The registration says "Title Brands: Antique Vehicle" It does NOT show GVWR, but it does show "unladen weight" 21,550". Per PennDOT, it is NOT unladen weight that invokes CDL, it's GVWR. And the forms I filled out when registering definitely had GVWR on them, so I assume LEO can see it on their screen when they pull you over. Even if they can't see GVWR on their system, they can see it on the plate inside truck.... (I was thinking of strategies to show it's non CDL by arguing it's under 26K GVWR, but this is so easily disproven, it's not worth the risk LEO will peg you as trying to fool him)

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to share my learnings.
 
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